"Phew! I say, I rather bar meddling with politics, especially the white-hot explosive politics that he affects."
"So do I. I hate 'em. Still, if there's anybody able to ferret out where that Recipe's got to, and make the present holder disgorge, that long, lean, respectable-looking anarchist is the man. To begin with, he has a far cleverer head on him than either of us can run to, and from what I told you about his theories, he'll be as keen as knives when once he's shown the scent."
"But the man's not more than human," objected Haigh. "I don't see that he'll be able to squint farther through a brick wall than either of us could."
"He has more chances, for this reason: he's mixed up with social undercurrents whose flow we can neither trace nor follow. These will take him to places where we could not get, and show him things that we could not find."
"Which fine metaphor boiled down signifies that you want to bring the man into partnership because he is a professional conspirator."
"Put it that way if you like. Also you must not forget that you and I are at present dead-locked."
"So that we have all to gain and nothing to lose. Precisely; old man, you've put it in a nutshell. The only other thing is, do you think Taltavull would play fair?"
"We must risk that. It isn't a matter one could make out a paper agreement over, and sign our names to across a charter-party stamp. But I think, from what I saw of him, Taltavull is not the man to do an unfair thing to any one who treats him well. But, as I say, we must be prepared to risk it."
"All right then," said Haigh; "so far as I'm concerned, I'm quite willing. You do the recruiting. We might call ourselves the Raymond Lully Exploitation Company, Limited."
I went out there and then about the errand, and found Taltavull at his own house, sitting in a huge stuffed armchair. He was reading L'Intransigeant, and marking in blue pencil the points where he considered its racy blackguardisms were not sufficiently pungent.